PV Sindhu showed her dominance at the Madrid Masters 2023 on Thursday after successfully beating Putri Kusuma WARDANI from Indonesia in the round of 16. The two-time Olympic gold medalist won 21-14, 21-16 to advance to the quarterfinals alongside fellow Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth.
Wardani, who is ranked 38th in the BWF rankings could not keep up with Sindhu’s level of play. The Indian shuttler is currently trying to get back to form after missing multiple matches due to injuries since the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
The match lasted 36 minutes, during which the Indian star dominated her opponent by winning more rally points, ultimately leading her way to the next round.
Sindhu is now set to face Mia Blichfeldt from Denmark in the quarterfinals.
This season, Sindhu has been struggling to find her form since returning back to the court following a long injury layoff. It is the first time that the 27-year-old former world champion has been able to advance past the second round in 2023.
Sindhu, who is currently outside of the top 10 rankings for the first time since November 2016, is scheduled to face 25-year-old Danish Mia Blichfeldt in the Super 300 tournament’s last eight stages.
Kiran George and Priyanshu Rajawat were eliminated from the men’s singles event after losing in the second round.
Magnus Johannesen of Denmark defeated George during a match lasting 31 minutes with a score of 17-21 12-21 while Rajat lost to eighth seed Toma Junior Popov from France with a score of 14-21 15-21.
Later in the day, Aakarshi Kashyap, Ashmita Chaliha Malvika Bansod, and Sameer Verma played their second-round matches.
The MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila and Sikki Reddy and Arathi Sara Sunil doubles team will also be competing.